Distant Thunder

1981. Japan. Directed by Kichitaro Negishi. Screenplay by Haruhiko Arai, based on the novel by Wahei Tatematsu. With Toshiyuki Nagashima, Johnny Okura, Eri Ishida. Distant Thunder charts the urban sprawl and corrupt materialism of Tokyo in the 1970s, as well as its devastating effect on farming families in the outlying areas of the city. Negishi’s film, whose protagonist is a young tomato grower, was made in the characteristically realist style that his uncle established in the 1930s as the leading producer of the famed Nikkatsu Tamagawa studios. Print lent by The Japan Foundation; courtesy Toho Distribution. In Japanese; English subtitles. 135 min.

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